Ubuntu CLI Cheat Sheet 2025

Table of Contents

• System
• Files
• Packages
• Users and Groups
• Networking
• LXD
• Ubuntu Pro

System

System information

• uname -a: Displays all system information.
• hostnamectl: Shows current hostname and related details.
• lscpu: Lists CPU architecture information.
• timedatectl status: Shows system time.

System monitoring and management

• top: Displays real-time system processes.
• htop: An interactive process viewer (needs installation).
• df -h: Shows disk usage in a human-readable format.
• free -m: Displays free and used memory in MB.
• kill <process id>: Terminates a process.

Running commands

• <command> &: Runs command in the background.
• jobs: Displays background commands.
• fg <command number>: Brings command to the foreground.

Service management

• sudo systemctl start <service>: Starts a service.
• sudo systemctl stop <service>: Stops a service.
• sudo systemctl status <service>: Checks the status of a service.
• sudo systemctl reload <service>: Reloads a service’s configuration without interrupting its operation.
• journalctl -f: Follows the journal, showing new log messages in real time.
• journalctl -u <unit_name>: Displays logs for a specific systemd unit.

Cron jobs and scheduling

• crontab -e: Edits cron jobs for the current user.
• crontab -l: Lists cron jobs for the current user.

Files

File management

• ls: Lists files and directories.
• touch <filename>: Creates an empty file or updates the last accessed date.
• cp <source> <destination>: Copies files from source to destination.
• mv <source> <destination>: Moves files or renames them.
• rm <filename>: Deletes a file.

Directory navigation

• pwd: Displays the current directory path.
• cd <directory>: Changes the current directory.
• mkdir <dirname>: Creates a new directory.

File permissions and ownership

• chmod [who][+/-][permissions] <file>: Changes file permissions.
• chmod u+x <file>: Makes a file executable by its owner.
• chown [user]:[group] <file>: Changes file owner and group.

Searching and finding

• find [directory] -name <search_pattern>: Finds files and directories.
• grep <search_pattern> <file>: Searches for a pattern in files.

Archiving and compression

• tar -czvf <name.tar.gz> [files]: Compresses files into a tar.gz archive.
• tar -xvf <name.tar.[gz|bz|xz]> [destination]: Extracts a compressed tar archive.

Text editing and processing

• nano <file>: Opens a file in the Nano text editor.
• cat <file>: Displays the contents of a file.
• less <file>: Displays the paginated content of a file.
• head <file>: Shows the first few lines of a file.
• tail <file>: Shows the last few lines of a file.
• awk '{print}' <file>: Prints every line in a file.

Packages

Package management (APT)

• sudo apt install <package>: Installs a package.
• sudo apt install -f --reinstall <package>: Reinstalls a broken package.
• apt search <package>: Searches for APT packages.
• apt-cache policy <package>: Lists available package versions.
• sudo apt update: Updates package lists.
• sudo apt upgrade: Upgrades all upgradable packages.
• sudo apt remove <package>: Removes a package.
• sudo apt purge <package>: Removes a package and all its configuration files.

Package management (Snap)

• snap find <package>: Search for Snap packages.
• sudo snap install <snap_name>: Installs a Snap package.
• sudo snap remove <snap_name>: Removes a Snap package.
• sudo snap refresh: Updates all installed Snap packages.
• snap list: Lists all installed Snap packages.
• snap info <snap_name>: Displays information about a Snap package.

Users and Groups

User management

• w: Shows which users are logged in.
• sudo adduser <username>: Creates a new user.
• sudo deluser <username>: Deletes a user.
• sudo passwd <username>: Sets or changes the password for a user.
• su <username>: Switches user.
• sudo passwd -l <username>: Locks a user account.
• sudo passwd -u <username>: Unlocks a user password.
• sudo chage <username>: Sets user password expiration date.

Group management

• id [username]: Displays user and group IDs.
• groups [username]: Shows the groups a user belongs to.
• sudo addgroup <groupname>: Creates a new group.
• sudo delgroup <groupname>: Deletes a group.

Networking

• ip addr show: Displays network interfaces and IP addresses.
• ip -s link: Shows network statistics.
• ss -l: Shows listening sockets.
• ping <host>: Pings a host and outputs results.

Netplan configuration

• cat /etc/netplan/*.yaml: Displays the current Netplan configuration.
• sudo netplan try: Tests a new configuration for a set period of time.
• sudo netplan apply: Applies the current Netplan configuration.

Firewall management

• sudo ufw status: Displays the status of the firewall.
• sudo ufw enable: Enables the firewall.
• sudo ufw disable: Disables the firewall.
• sudo ufw allow <port/service>: Allows traffic on a specific port or service.
• sudo ufw deny <port/service>: Denies traffic on a specific port or service.
• sudo ufw delete allow/deny <port/service>: Deletes an existing rule.

SSH and remote access

• ssh <user@host>: Connects to a remote host via SSH.
• scp <source> <user@host>:<destination>: Securely copies files between hosts.

LXD

Creating instances

• lxc init ubuntu:24.04 <container name>: Creates lxc system container (without starting it).
• lxc launch ubuntu:24.04 <container name>: Creates and starts a lxc system container.
• lxc launch ubuntu:24.04 <vm name> --vm: Creates and starts a virtual machine.

Managing instances

• lxc list: Lists instances.
• lxc info <instance>: Shows status information about an instance.
• lxc start <instance>: Starts an instance.
• lxc stop <instance> [--force]: Stops an instance.
• lxc delete <instance> [--force|--interactive]: Deletes an instance.

Accessing instances

• lxc exec <instance> -- <command>: Runs a command inside an instance.
• lxc exec <instance> -- bash: Gets shell access to an instance (if bash is installed).
• lxc console <instance> [flags]: Gets console access to an instance.
• lxc file pull <instance>/<instance_filepath> <local_filepath>: Pulls a file from an instance.
• lxc file push <local_filepath> <instance>/<instance_filepath>: Pushes a file to an instance.

Using projects

• lxc project create <project> [--config <option>]: Creates a project.
• lxc project set <project> <option>: Configures a project.
• lxc project switch <project>: Switches to a project.

Ubuntu Pro

Activating Ubuntu Pro

• sudo pro attach <token>: Attaches your machine to Ubuntu Pro using a specific token.

Managing services

• sudo pro status: Displays the status of all Ubuntu Pro services.
• sudo pro enable <service>: Enables a specific Ubuntu Pro service (ESM, FIPS, Livepatch).
• sudo pro disable <service>: Disables a specific Ubuntu Pro service.

Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)

• sudo pro enable esm-infra: Activates Extended Security Maintenance for infrastructure packages.
• sudo pro enable esm-apps: Activates ESM for applications.

Livepatch service

• sudo pro enable livepatch: Enables the Livepatch service.

FIPS mode

• sudo pro enable fips: Enables FIPS mode.

Updating configuration

• sudo pro refresh: Refreshes the Ubuntu Pro state.

Detaching Ubuntu Pro

• sudo pro detach: Detaches the machine from Ubuntu Pro, disabling all services.

Ubuntu CLI Cheat Sheet 2025 | Built for the Homelab Environment